Feeding device.



F. l. VENNING.

FEEDING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED1UNE22. 1911.

Patented Feb. I2, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

FRANK J. VENNING, 0F CINCINNATI, QHIO.

FEEDING DEVIGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 12, 19118.

kContinuation .of application Serial No. 770,627, n led May 29 191,3, This application led June 22, 3.917.

vserial No. Nenas.

To all wlw/n, it may concern.'

Be it known `that I, F RANK J. VENNING, a citizen of the United States., residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Devices, of which the foll-owing is a specification.

My invention relates to machinesV for grinding or otherwise operating upon a track while ruiming along the track; and the object is to so gradually run the machine along the track While Operating as to afford a nice adjustment of feed and'thereby afford a more efficient operation of the machine.

My inventionconsists in the combination of parts and in the details of construction and arrangement of parts as will herein be more fully described and claimed.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a railway track grinding machine provided with a feeding device embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial verticalcross section of the same on a line corresponding to the line of Fig. 1, more clearly showing the construction of the feeding device; and

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the feeding device.

The track grinding machine in connection with which I illustrate my invention and to which my invention is most applicable, comprises a grinding arbor 1 which is the armature shaft of the motor 2, and on which arbor is a grinding wheel 3. The motor is provided with suitable means 4, by which it may be brought into a substantially vertical position as shown, to bring the grinding wheel into engagement with the rail or other track part to be ground. Such a machine is shown, described and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 770,627, filed Way 29, 1913, of which this application is a continuation.

However, it will be understood that any other device for grinding whether adjustable toward or from the track part, or any device, whether used for grinding or not, which requires adjustment along the track for successive operation on a track part while the machine is supported on the track will, with advantage be provided with my improved feeding device.

As herein shown, the machine has four track wheels 5 which are flanged and run on. the rails of the track. The forward track wheels may be loose upon their axle 6, but the rear track wheels, with which the feeding device is incorporated are made tight upon their axle 7. This axle is journaled in rearwardly extending forks 8 which form part of the frame of the machine along with a transverse preferably tubular frame bar 9 to which the forks 8 are clamped at respective sides of the machine. This frame bar `9 extends substantially parallel with the axle 7, but preferably at a somewhat greater height above the track.

About midway of the length of this axle 7, between the track wheels 5, a spur pinion l0 is fixed on the axle 7, and the bi.- furcated yoke pieces 11 have members bearing on the axle 7 and fianking this pinion 1 0; The other members of the yoke pieces 11 extend over and flank a clip 12 that is bolted around the frame bar 9, being secured to this clip by a bolt 13, passing transversely through them and through the clip.

Meshing with the pinion 10 is an idler spur pinion 14 turning on a transverse pin 15, supported in the yoke pieces 11 above the pinion l0. Above this idler pinion 14, and meshing therewith, is a spur gear 16 turning on a pin 17, also carried in the yoke pieces 11. The feed lever 18 has bifurcations 19 that flank the gear 16 but come between the yoke pieces 11 and pivot on the pin 17 that forms the bearing for the gear 16, so that the lever 18 is fulcrumed concentric with the gear 16.

This lever 18 has a detent 20 pressed down by a spring 21 and raised by a pawl 22 on the handle of the lever 18. lVhen this detent is raised, the lever 18 may be swung around the gear 16 and the detent 2O may descend between any two teeth of the gear. By this means, the lever 18 may be swung backward or forward with the detent 2O disengaging, and then engaging to swing forward or backward and rotate the gear 16 accordingly.

This moves the entire machine forward 0r backward along the track by the driving action of the gear 16 through the pinions 14 and 10 and the axle 7 to the track wheels 5 bearing on the rails. The idler pinion 14: is interposed so that a swing of the lever will drive the machine in the same instead of in an opposite direction.

The operator preferably stands to the rear of the axle 7 just inside the track, and, by manipulating the lever 18, may feed the machine along the track to produce the exact operating effect desired, and may reciprocate the machine along the track as required. At the same time, whensuch a machine as the one .shown is fed by this means, the operator has convenient access to the other adjusting and operating parts of the machine, and from his position can readily see the progress of the work done by the machine.

By releasing the detent 20 from the gear 16 and holding it in released position, the lever 18 may be swung backward and downward and used as a tongue or handle for drawing the machine along the track for transporting it moderate distances, as from one job of work to another along the track. iVith the detent 20 thus released, the gear 16 revolves freely as the machine runs along the track. As here shown, the detent 20 has a lower guide 23 and an upper guide 24C j. on the lever 18, and the spring 21 is compressed between the lower side of the upper guide and a pin 25 in the detent. For holding the detent up out of engagement with the teeth of the gear 16 for the purpose above described, the detent 20 may have an opening 26 which rises above the upper guide 24 when the detent is out of position for engagement with the teeth of the gear 16, and a pin 27 may be passed through this opening 26 to engage with the top of the upper guide 24 and prevent ,downward movement of the detent 20 under the action of the spring 21. This pin 2T may be iiexibly secured to the side of the lever by a chain 28 upon which it hangs when not in use.

'Y Having fully described my invention,

Letters Patent is 1. In a feeding device, in combination with a machine to be fed along a track, and a track wheel on said machine to bear on the track and support the machine, a spur gear with which said track wheel rotates coaxially, an idler spur gear meshing with the aforementioned gear, ra third spur gear meshing with the idler gear, supporting means for said gears, a leverfulcrumed concentric with said third spur gear, Vand a detent carried with the lever to swing with it around over the teeth of `said third spur gear or toengage between said teeth of said third spur gear to intermittently rotate said gears and the track wheel in either direction.

2. ,In a feeding device, in combination with a machine to be'fed along a track, and track wheels bearing on the respective rails of the track and supporting the machine, an axle extending across the track on which axle said track wheels are fixed', a frame bar extending across the track substantially parallel with said axle, projections on the frame bars in which'projections said axle is journaled, supporting means comprising bifurcated yoke pieces each having a member inclined up from the frame bar and over the axle, and its other member extending down Y tothe axle, in which members of said yokes said axle 1s also journaled, a trainof gears journaled between these other members, one

of which is Yfixed to said axle, a lever fulp crumed on said yoke'near the junction of its members, and means on said lever engag! ing one ofsaid gears for intermittently ro tating said axle.'

FRANK J. VENNING.

Witnesses:

J AMES N. RAMSEY, IRENE PARKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. Y 

